Statistics show that the number of criminal women is considerably less in
proportion than that of male criminals.
[ 1 ]

Oh, the progress of Woman has really been vast Since
Civilization began. She's usurped all the qualities which in the past
Were reckoned peculiar to Man. She can score with a bat, use a rod or a
cue; Her tennis and golf are sublime. Her aim
with a gun is uncommonly true, But Man beats her
hollow at crime.

The strings to her bow are both varied and quaint;
There are maids who can work with the pen, There are maids who can
handle the palette and paint With a skill that's not
given to men. There are ladies who preach, lady doctors there are,
MPs will be ladies in time,
[ 2 ]And ladies, I hear, practise now at the Bar --
But Man holds the record for crime.

So it's hey for the jemmy, and
ho for the drill,
[ 3 ] And hurrah for the skeleton keys. Oh, to
burgle a house or to rifle a till! I am more than her
equal at these. She may beat me at home, she may beat me afield;
In her way I admit she is prime. But one palm at least
I compel her to yield:
[ 4 ] I can give her a lesson in crime.

[ 5 pages, circa 2' 00" ]

P. G. Wodehouse

After setting
The Gourmet's Love Song (see that page for more information on
Wodehouse), I have become ever more a fan of this humorist's work. His early
verse is in the public domain, and perhaps I will set yet more as time goes
by. This setting is a man's to perform, as it is a comic and yet in its time
pointed confession of the equalities and similarities between men and women
in so many things. Almost a century later, one finds even in the "field" of
crime, women are taking their place, albeit not as yet equally, which is of
course the larger point of this verse.

tessitura for tenor and baritone editions

The architectural duple lilt of 6/8 time is offset by the occasional 3/4
measure between introduction and verses. The wholly parallel four-note seven
chords which accompany the opening lines are broken only by some filigree
and the next single-measure citation of 3/4.

A restatement of the admission "at crime" rises the octave to stress this,
the topic and point of the poem. The second verse of the poem is a variant
setting of the first as the accompaniment descends into the bass clefs
rather than rise as did the first; again the consistency of the chord form
appearing in parallel is retained.

The beginning of Wodehouse's third stanza is not a beginning to another
restatement of the setting's verse form, but provides a bridge, as the vocal
line rises to its highest point at "hurrah for the skeleton keys." Thereupon
the "third" verse of the setting begins anew in the middle of Wodehouse's
third stanza, with a brilliant, pianistic gesture to underscore the final
admission of the text.

The score for A Solitary Triumph is available in editions for tenor
and baritone as free PDF downloads, though any major commercial performance
or recording of the work is prohibited without prior arrangement with the
composer. Click on the graphic below for this piano-vocal score.

[ 2 ] "MPs" - Members of Parliament.
This has of course transpired, with women taking their places
across the political spectrum, from small-government advocates
to socialists of varying degrees. From Golda Meir of Israel to
Margaret Thatcher of Great Britain, and now to Angela Merkel in
Germany, women are showing themselves to have broken this
so-called "glass ceiling" as well. Another "glass ceiling" of
sorts, too, has been broken, as women find themselves
represented statistically with the same diseases as men in
positions of power and influence had once evidences as a
"gender" difference, one now fading away.

[ 3 ] "Jemmy" is a British spelling, alternatively
called a "jimmy" in the US, and is in this sense a short steel pry bar or
crowbar used, especially by burglars, for forcing doors and windows. The
word is used as both noun and verb.

[ 4 ] "But one palm at least I compel
her to yield" refers to that emblem, insignia or portion thereof
representing a leaf or branch worn on certain military
decorations as well as that which makes up the sports victor's
crown of palm leaves. One notes the European film prize is also
a "Palme d'Or."